The Earthquakes' paper-thin margin for error has vanished in the aftermath of a four-match winless streak. The team that made a big second-half run toward the Major League Soccer playoffs needs a victory tonight against the Houston Dynamo to remain in the race.

Blame it on Ike?

When the Quakes prepared for their Sept. 20 match in Houston, they had moved into playoff contention with a nine-game unbeaten streak in league play. Then Hurricane Ike damaged parts of Houston, postponing the match until tonight.

The Quakes suddenly had two weeks between games, and by the time they resumed play, the teams in front of them had regrouped. It forced the Earthquakes (0-2-1 since the layoff) into must-win games they failed to win.

Now they need to win their final three matches and hope for help from other clubs to become the first expansion team in a decade to reach the playoffs. The Quakes play at Kansas City on Saturday and end the season Oct. 25 at home against Toronto FC.

Coach Frank Yallop said his team not only lost its rhythm but also its belief during the break last month.

"Some injuries healed, but in the end the momentum and team got stopped," he said.

Perhaps it was too much to expect San Jose to keep winning, but in the heady days of summer the Quakes raised expectations with the magical run. The additions of Arturo Alvarez, Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima and Scott Sealy in July helped transform San Jose into the league's hottest team at the time.

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"For us to catch up as much as we did and then fall away at the end was disappointing," Yallop said. "We just went out of pocket at the wrong time. We were so close."

"To try to make excuses for some lackluster performances at home due to a hurricane that happened in Houston is ridiculous," he said. "I doubt you'll find a single guy saying it affected how they played."

Cannon said the Quakes got away with some mistakes during the unbeaten streak.

"When it starting getting down to playoff contention, the mistakes started to cost us," he said. "It is now just coming back to haunt us. I'm not going to blame it on a hurricane."

The keeper explained the two recent home defeats to Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA as a culmination of minor defensive breakdowns and missed scoring opportunities. In a game as subtle as soccer, that's all it takes to change an outcome. Also, FC Dallas escaped two weeks ago with a tie against the Quakes with the help of two questionable calls by the referee.

"There is fine line between winning and losing, or not getting the points you deserve," Huckerby said.

San Jose has lost only two of the 11 matches since Huckerby arrived from England at the midway point of the season. But a 3-9-3 start has made it difficult to be a factor in the playoff race.

"We went nine games unbeaten and we lose one game and we're nearly out of the picture," Huckerby lamented.

Cannon also said the Quakes have become predictable by relying too much on Huckerby's offensive flare. "Teams have become a little smarter to it," he said.

Not that anyone from San Jose is ready to quit.

The Quakes are 1-0-1 against Houston, a team Yallop built in San Jose before it moved to Texas almost three years ago. After the Dynamo tied the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, it is in a fight with Chivas USA to win the West. Houston expects a difficult match tonight.

"We understand San Jose's position," Coach Dominic Kinnear said of the Quakes' need to win.

Houston has Brian Ching, Kei Kamara and Dwayne De Rosario back from World Cup qualifying duties, but Kinnear said he will put the "freshest, most competitive team on the field."